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The integration of selected groups of physically disabled men and women into the workforce in greater Vancouver, 1982

University of British Columbia

This thesis examines the job search and hiring experiences of physically disabled people in, or seeking to enter the competitive workforce (as threshold workers) in Greater Vancouver in 1982. Estimates of the number of disabled people in Canada vary, but there is agreement that their numbers are likely to increase as more people live longer to develop disabling conditions and as medical technology enables more people to survive accidents and disease to become temporarily or permanently disabled. Although numbers are not known, there is a consensus that disabled people are under-represented in the workforce. A review of the literature suggested that the variables likely to be important in getting work are: sex (male), the salience of the disability, socio-economic status, education, job skills, social skills, the job-search strategy, access and transportation to the workplace and the hiring procedure, especially the interview. Also important are the applicant's social support network, the prevailing economic climate and current policies and legislation. A model was constructed from these variables and a questionnaire designed. Four disability groups were chosen to test the model. Selection was made according to their positions along a gradient of the salience of the disability: cerebral palsy (high salience), traumatic paraplegia, blindness and epilepsy (hidden disability). The control group consisted of people who had left high school the previous year. Ninety nine statistically usable questionnaires were obtained. The computer program used was SPSS and the results were analysed using a Yates' correction for small numbers. None of the selected variables is significant at the 0.05 probability level. An unexpected, significant relationship was found between marital status and employment: married people are more likely to be working. The reasons for this might be greater social support and incentive for work. The disabled people surveyed are significantly dependent on the formal support system of pensions and guaranteed available income for need (GAIN) payments to meet their basic expenses of food, shelter and clothing. No one with cerebral palsy is working. More blind women than blind men are working. Most of these women work in traditional "female ghetto" office jobs. None of the controls has regular, full-time work and this sample proved to be another employment-disadvantaged group. The lack of significance of the chosen variables suggests that the environment may have more influence on employment than intrinsic factors such as the type of disability. The economic recession and depressed job market is thought to have influenced the results of this survey. Other factors considered are societal expectations, attitudes, policy and legislation as a form of social control. Affirmative action legislation at the provincial level to complement existing federal laws would facilitate the entry of qualified, disabled people into the workforce. The aim of this survey was to gather information to develop a strategy that would be useful to disabled people looking for work. Such information was not obtained, therefore no strategy can be recommended. Areas suggested for future study are the relationship of marital status to employment of disabled people; job retention and promotion of people with stable disabilities such as the ones studied here; the complementary roles of vocational rehabilitation and job placement services in British Columbia; the role of disability agencies in vocational rehabilitation and placement of disabled people in Greater Vancovuer; and the loss, if any, to the workforce of skilled workers who develop a disabling condition such as rheumatoid arthritis or multiple sclerosis.

Text

2010-05-17

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/24796

Health Care and Epidemiology

University of British Columbia

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